Summer is finally here! And although I am totally in love with summer activities like swimming, biking, picnicking and watching fireflies dance in the night, I am most certainly not in love with cooking in a hot kitchen and missing all the fun. So I like to think of summer as “salad days.”  You, know, the days when you can throw something delish together with a few fresh ingredients and call it a meal. If you would also rather skip KP duty in favor of other summer pleasures, here are 3 cool summer salad ideas for you to try. The best part? Each of these salad ideas is a snap to make.

Spicy Fresh Corn And Greens Salad: Did you know that you don’t need to cook corn to enjoy it?Add fresh corn, sliced right off the cob, to a salad of spinach, diced purple onion, fresh jalapeño, tomatoes and avocados. Add a few queso manchego crumbles, if desired. Dress with Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Ranch Dressing and a dollop of Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Hot Salsa. Serve in avocado halves, if desired.

Fruit And Couscous Grilled Salad: Summer is grillin’ time! So after you grill up some wonderful chicken or ribs and the grill is still hot, why not throw on some fruit and toss together a wonderful grilled fruit salad? You might not think it, but stone fruits like peaches and nectarines are wonderful when grilled. Grilling brings out the natural sweetness, and pairs beautifully with couscous. Brush pitted and halved fruit with a bit of olive oil and grill over medium, indirect heat, flesh slide down, 3-4 minutes or until slightly charred. Slice and add to cooked couscous, green onion, fresh cilantro and mint. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a drizzle of honey.

Quinoa And Blueberries Salad: Toss together cooked Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Traditional Quinoa, blueberries, cubed cantaloupe and chopped pecans, and what do you get? Summer deliciousness, that’s what! Throw on a bit of chopped fresh mint and dress with a poppy seed dressing for a hearty and healthy summer fruit salad.

So there you have it, 3 cool summer salad ideas to inspire you. Will these ideas encourage you to think in a new way about summer salads? Let me know! Or share your own favorite summer salads ideas.